My Basket of Fruits
by Dark Kitti
Summary: My two cousins and I recently moved to Japan from America. Our family is cursed with Zodiac animals. We expected to be dodging hugs, collisions, and admirers, but what we didn't expect was to find a family just like ours...
1. Chapter 1

"Well, I'm not the one who took three years in the bathroom!"

"I'm not the one who had to eat five bowls of cereal!"

"I'm a growing boy! I need supplement!"

"Would you both shut up?" I shouted. My two cousins, Kaia and Dean, were arguing as usual. Their constant bickering was annoying enough, and the fact that it was raining did NOT help my mood.

"Sorry." Kaia and Dean said in unison. That was almost as annoying.

I almost hissed at them. Almost. We couldn't have people in our new school guessing anything strange about us, could we? You see, our family, the Curnas, are cursed. We turn into Zodiac animals when we are hugged but the opposite gender. It kinda sucks, especially because I'm the family outcast, the cat. My aunt (Kaia and Dean's mom) says there are other families like ours, bu I'm just not seeing them.

Kaia is the boar (rapid mood swings and stuff, but pretty cool otherwise) and Dean is the dragon. They're twins, and always fighting. We live in a house in the middle of the woods with Shoji, the snake, as our chaperone.

In our last school, people had started to suspect there was something strange about us, so we had to move. Now we live in Japan, which is on the other side of the world from our New York home, and on the other side of the world from our family. Not that I mind. Today is our first day in a Japanese school, and Kaia and I are the only ones who can really speak it, picking it up from Shoji and Tomoko, a maid we had had back home in America. Dean could speak just enough to get by.

As soon as we walked into the classroom, I was jealous of Kaia. All the attention was drawn to her with her long brown hair, soft brown eyes and pretty face. Me, on the other hand, has flaming orange hair and almost red eyes (sort of orangey- red). The second thing I noticed was there was a guy sitting in the back of the classroom who looked a lot like me. Except he was drop- dead gorgeous. But the flaming orange hair and red eyes was the same.

"Class," the teacher announced. "This is Kaia, Dean, and Shawna Curna. Please Welcome them to our class." Kaia and Dean smiled and waved, but I was too busy staring at my could- be twin.

When I sat down, the girl next to me smiled and said, "Hi! I'm Tohru Honda. You're Shawna, right?"

I smiled, relived that people here were friendly, and nodded. "Nice to meet you Tohru. Yes, I'm Shawna."

"I really like you're hair. It looks like Kyou's. Are you related to him?" The practically bounced out of her seat as she spoke.

"Thanks, but, no, I'm not related to that guy. I'm assuming you mean him?" I motioned to my could- be twin.

"Yes, that's Kyou!" smile smile

"Curna- san, It's a pleasure to have you join our class. I'm the class president, Yuki Sohma." I looked up to see yet another drop- dead gorgeous guy standing in front of me.

"Hi." Being so stunned, I realized (too late of course) I had spoken in English instead of Japanese and said 'yes' instead of 'hi'. I silently cursed my American background and quickly corrected myself.

"I'm sorry. I meant Hello. I'm originally American, you see. 'Hi' there means hello, and here 'Hai' means yes. I apologize." I could feel my face go beet red as I rambled on in Japanese, hoping no English was slipping in.

"It's all right Curna- san. After all, you're just human." He smiled kindly, but I noticed his smile was not like Tohru's. His smile seemed more forced, and more of a formality than a true smile.

At lunch, Tohru introduced me to all of her friends. Hana- chan and Uo- chan seemed pretty cool, but the one who interested me most was that guy, Kyou. I found out from Tohru that he was Yuki's cousin, though they looked nothing alike. As I watched him, he scowled at his food, like it had deeply wronged him in a past life or something. He even acted like me on a rainy day.

Finally, I decided to say something to him. "Hey. You're Kyou, right? I'm Shawna Curna." My tone had a low growl in it that I felt I didn't need to hide with him like I did with everyone else.

"Yeah." He seemed to tense slightly.

"Relax," I said softly, but still with the growl. I sat next to him and sighed. "I'm like you." I knew I wasn't like him, buthe had to think I was just some grumpy girl.

"I don't think so." Kyou growled back.

"Oh really?" I said, getting a little annoyed. Here I was, trying to be friendly!

"Yeah." Then he got up and walked away.

I sat there, shocked, for a minute, but then got up and ran after him. I was pissed. "Hey! Wait a minute!"

I grabbed his arm and was surprised when he used an expert martial arts move on me. Luckily, I was quick to recover, and retaliated. Unfortunately, for this retaliation,I had to sacrifice my footing and fell forward after landing my punch.

I fell on him, and, due to natural human instinct, our arms snapped around each other.


	2. Chapter 2

I stood tensely, waiting for the poof, but it didn't come. Then I noticed Kyou was teally tense too and rwalized I was still clutching him.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" I pulled away and nervously tucked my hair behind my ear. Kyou just looked at me strangely. "What?" I asked irratably.

Kyou just shoo his head, grabbed my arm and lead me into the lunch room.

Pushing me into a chair, he sank down across from me. "Maybe you aren't as different as I thought." He said grumpily. Great. Now he was looking at me like I was the one who had deeply wronged him in a past life.

I shrugged, still mulling over why i didn't didn't change when I hugged him.

"Hi Shawna, Hi Kyou!" Tohru came bouncing up with Hana- chan, Uo- chan, Kaia, and Dean in towe. Yuki wasn't far behind, detered by fan girls.

"'Lo" I said simply, not feeling very friendly.

"Hey! You took my drink!" Kaia shouted at Dean.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"SHUT UP!" I screamed. Then I got up and stomped away from the group, ignoring their stunned faces.

"I'm sorry about her. The rainy weather makes her irritable," Kaia expained, then bolted after me, leaving Dean open- mouthed. Now he had to answer his questions with his broken, halting japanese.

"Shawny! Shawny! Are you okay?" Kaia asked me, running up.

"That boy, Kyou. There's something strange about him. Her's not normal. I acidentally fell and hugged him, but nothing happened. I didn't change. I'm telling you. Something anout those Sohmas. Yuki, too. There's something off about them." I fumed.

"Relax, Shawny. It probably wasn't a satisfactory hug. That's all." Kaia soothed.

I thought about it. It had definatetly been a satisfactory hug. We'd probably looked like a couple. clutching eachother like that. Maybe my zodiac sign was defective. Another thing to add to the list. My day was REALLY not going well.

"Excuse me, Curna- san."

Both Kaia and I responded, "Yes?"

Yuki had walked up behind us, and I desperately hoped he hadn't heard my little rant. "I wanted to introduce you to my other two cousins who go to this school, Momiji and Hatsuharu."

"Hello." The one indicated as Hatsuharu said. He had white hair with black roots. Seeing this, I froze. He had the same hair as my cousin, Lilah. That was NOT a common hair color.

"Hi!" Momiji smiled widely and grabbed my hand. "You look like Kyou!"

Hatsuharu watched me quietly, like he was trying to distern something.

"What?" I asked, crankily.

"Come with me." He turned and walked away, motioning for me to follow him.

"What?" I asked again, more comfused than cranky this time, but then I followed him.

"Shawny?" Kaia called after me.

"You can handle introductions, right, Kai?" I called over my shoulder as I continued walking.

"Umm... okay." Kaia sounded confused, but agreed.

"So, what do you want?" I asked, irritable again, as soon as we were out of earshot of the others.

"You're one of us, aren't you?" Hatsuharu asked.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

"You're... different. Not like most people." Hatsuharu replied.

"I- I have no idea what you're talking about." I said. He couldn't know. There was no way he could know about my family, was there?

"You change." Hatsuharu grabbed my right arma nd pulled up my sleeve, revealing my beaded bracelet.

I froze, realizing that he knew about my beads. The beads on my wrist that kept me from changing into a monster. How did he know about my beads? What else did he know about? If I was the only one found out, I had to figure out how to protect the rest of the family from being exposed.

And that's when his voice broke through my foggy mind. "You are the cat."


	3. Chapter 3

"Seriously, I have no idea what you're talking about." I was literally shaking. How did Hatsuharu know about the Zodiac- and how did he know what sign I was?

"You can tell us, Shawny!" A voice cried from behind us. I turned around to see Momiji standing behind me.

"I really don't-" I started again.

"Awww, Shawny, you don't have to lie. We know what you are because we are them ourselves!" Momiji skipped up to me and grabbed my arm, pulling me around in a circle.

"You... are... like me?" I asked, quietly.

"Yes." Hatsuharu responded, then swiftly swept me into his arms. Just as it had been with Kyou, there was no poof and no turning into a cat. Maybe they did know what I was, and maybe they were one of the families that my aunt had been talking about. One of the families like ours.

"I... I believe you, but that doesn't mean my cousins will. I'll keep you're secret safe if you keep mine. That means nobody but the three of us can know about the Zodiac." I said. I was scared the head of the family would find out and punish the Sohmas. I wasn't too sure about them, but they seemed honest, and it felt nice to be held like Hatsuharu had held me a minute ago. If the head of my family, Uncle Mitch, found out that they knew our family secret and they turned out to just be strange people who could hug us, then they could be killed. Even if they were a family like ours, Uncle Mitch may still get angry. So I had to protect them now, too.

"YAY! Shawny's like Kyou, Shawny's-" I grabbed Momiji and covered his mouth before he could utter another sentence.

"What did I just say?" I hissed.

Momiji gave me a big set of apologetic eyes before I let him go. This time, he remained silent.

"That better," I said after a few moments of silence. "So, what animals are you?"

"I'm the rabbit!" Momiji was back to bouncing and smiling. "Haru's the ox." Hatsuharu nodded slightly, as if to verify that Momiji's answer was correct. I turned back to look at Momiji and noticed, at that moment, that Momiji was in a girl's school uniform.

"Uhhh... Momiji?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yes?" Momiji beamed at me.

"I'm not from around here, so I could be wrong, but I thought Momiji was a boy's name." I offered.

"Yup! It is! I just like the girl's school uniform much better!" He smiled brightly.

"Oh. Okay." I didn't know what else to say, and was quickly receding back into my grumpy rainy day mode now that the shock was wearing off.

"Hatsuharu, what did you so urgently need to speak to Curna- san about that you pulled her away before the introductions were finished?" Yuki's voice rang out behind me, making me jump a mile.

"Nothing, please forgive me, Yuki." Hatsuharu was immediately at Yuki's side, touching his face.

"Incest much?" Kaia whispered into my ear.

I shot her an angry look and replied softly, "They're our new friends. don't be rude." in my no nonsense voice.

"Sorry." Kaia said, visibly hurt. I pretended not to notice.

"Yuki, please, call her Shawna, like everyone else. Formalities are lost on her. You won't find an ounce of 'polite' in her body." I heard Dean's voice behind me, and turned around, rage showing on my face. And then commenced to chase him around the school, occasionally punching him, to the amusement of the others.

Weeks passed uneventfully, with Kaia and Dean getting fan clubs to rival Yuki and Kyou's. Hatsuharu said I had one too, but I just wasn't seeing it. I spent the majority of my time sitting around with Hatsuharu and Momiji, participating in activities when they did and not when they didn't. It didn't matter to me that they were a year younger than me, they new my secret, and were pretty cool otherwise. I wanted to get closer with Kyou, but I was afraid that he would guess my secret because we're the same sign. I was getting used to my life here in Japan, actually not missing New York at all when IT happened. Every Zodiac member's worse fear.

"Um, Shawna?" I heard Momiji's voice behind me and was immediately worried. he only called me Shawna when there was trouble.

"What happened, Momiji? Are you okay?" I whipped around to see a very scared looking Momiji.

"Remember when you said that the only people who could know about you and you're family was me and Haru?" Momiji fidgeted.

"Yes." There was a tone of warning in my voice that made Momiji shake more.

"Well, what happens if one other person accidentally found out?" Momiji asked me.

"I would hurt whoever told." My voice was deadly now.

"Um, maybe you should just come see?" Momiji looked scared out of his mind. I followed him to a secluded area where I saw Hatsuharu leaning on a wall, looking down at a hunched over figure who was holding a curled up miniature dragon.

I ran forward and snatched Dean out of the person's hands, noting that they were female. She had probably tried to force herself on Dean and succeeded in getting her arms around him. "What the hell do you think you're doing!" I shouted. "Can't you see you're scaring him?" Hearing my voice, Dean uncurled himself and shot up my sleeve.

"I- I'm sorry, Shawna." Wait! I recognized that voice!

"Tohru!" I exclaimed.

"Y- yes?" Tohru slowly stood up and turned to face me, nervously.

"Shit." I cursed under my breath.

"Shawny, Tohru already knows about our secret, so you shouldn't worry about her knowing yours." Momiji offered.

"Why didn't you tell me she knew!" I yelled.

"You never asked." Hatsuharu shrugged.

"I- I thought you said that you weren't related to Kyou." Tohru stuttered out.

"As far as we know, we're two totally unrelated families." Another soft voice said from behind us. I whipped around to see Kaia there. When I opened my mouth she said "Nobody else saw you and Momiji run across campus, don't worry."

"But how-" Tohru started.

"My family has always know that there were other families like ours that we scattered all across the world. We just were never expected to meet them." I cut in.

"The two families are expected to look a lot alike. I thought you guys looked a lot like us, but there was no way to tell for certain that you were one of 'the others'." Kaia added her input.

"There really is no way for us to tell if that is one of the other families, short of hugging each other. We don't poof then. But if we're wrong, you could see where that could become fatal, can't you?" Dean said from my shoulder, having climbed out of my sleeve at his twin's arrival.

"So there's just one thing that I want to know," Kaia began.

"How'd YOU find out, Shawna." Dean finished Kaia's sentence.

"We told her." Momiji said, trying to help me out.

"Why would you tell a person you just met something big like that?" Kaia asked, suspiciously.

"Because she told us." Momiji shrugged.

Kaia turned shocked eyes to me, and Dean angrily bit my ear. "They guessed." I said stiffly, flicking Dean away, and, as luck would have it, he turned back into a human mid- flight.

Kaia pulled out her cellphone as Dean pulled on his clothes and dialed the main house, back in New York. I froze as I watched those numbers being put into the phone. I wasn't scared of much, but Uncle Mitch was worthy of my fear.

"Yes, is this Rebecca? Hey, Becky, what's up? We have a little bit of a stiuation here in Japan. Yes, some one found out. Actually, there's three of them. You might want to send Jesse. Oh. Are you sure? I think Jesse could handle it. No, no, I'm not the one who makes the judgment. If Uncle Mitch wants to come all the way out here, he's welcomed to. It's fine by me. Thanks, Becky, It was great talking to you, kisses, bye." Kaia hung up her cell.

"Y- you didn't." I stuttered.

Kaia looked at me coldly. "Uncle Mitch is coming out here to fix this mess personally. Keep you're mouth shut. If it wasn't for you, we would have never been in this mess in the first place." Then she marched away.

I was vaguely aware of Dean's hand resting gently on my shoulder. This was it. If Uncle Mitch was coming to Japan himself, it meant the end for the Sohmas. He would kill them. And probably send me along for the ride for keeping it a secret that they knew for so long. There was no way that Hatsuharu, Momiji, Tohru, and myself would live to see another day.


	4. Chapter 4

"Uncle Mitch, please." I could hear the voices from inside the house. Uncle Mitch had come to Japan, smacked me around a bit, leaving me with a busted lip and a black eye, and an threat for more later. Now he was meeting with the head of the Sohma house, Akito. I heard that Akito could be almost as formidable as Uncle Mitch at times, and that brought back some of my hope.

There was suddenly an loud burst of commotion coming from inside the house. I rolled my eyes. Uncle Mitch was losing it again. I hope he was being conscious of his blood pressure.

"So you weren't as different as I thought." Kyou's voice came from behind me.

"Yeah, so what?' I didn't turn around, due to the state of my face. I didn't want this gorgeous guy seeing me all busted up.

"You could have said something you know." Kyou sounded irritated.

"What do you propose I say? 'Yeah, are you the outcast of a Chinese Zodiac curse? If you are, so am I.' that would have gone over well, don't you think?" I spat sarcastically.

"No." Kyou replied. "It wouldn't have. But there had to have been some way-"

"There wasn't okay!" I shouted, and whipped around to face him. I saw his eyes widen as he saw my face, and hastily turned around again.

"What happened to your face?" He asked, and I wished I could pummel him on the spot.

"Uncle Mitch was kinda angry." I responded, trying to control my anger. I couldn't get into anymore trouble at this point.

"You can't hold your own in a fight against that fat ass?" Kyou sounded as if he was going to laugh at me.

I whipped around again and grabbed him by the collar. "I could if I wanted to. I could have killed him twenty times in the fight, but didn't. I could do nothing while Jesse was watching." I glared evilly at Kyou.

He grabbed my arm and attempted to throw me, but I anticipated this move, and countered. Soon we found ourselves in an all out war of punches and kicks, matching move for move. Finally, I found and opening and went for it. Kyou landed on the ground with a small trail of blood coming out of his mouth.

"Still think I can't hold my own in a fight?" I asked, smirking as I looked down at him. Then I offered my hand to help him up.

Accepting it he replied, "Who's Jesse?"

"That damn rat." We said in unison. His tone was more of a question, and mine was a confirmation, but still... Somehow, I suddenly felt closer to him.

I plopped down onto the steps of the house and patted the space next to me. "So the rivalries are the same here." I sighed.

"Yeah." Kyou sat next to me and sighed as well.

"You're a worthy competitor. You gave me a run for my money." I offered. That was as close a compliment he was going to get out of me.

"You beat me. What's left to say?" I could tell that that was as close as I was coming to one as well.

"Who's the rat in you're family?" I asked, realizing that I had never bothered to ask Hatsuharu or Momiji.

"You know him." Kyou shrugged.

"I do?" I asked.

"oh, Curna -san, can I ask you a question? Curna -san, I couldn't possibly! It's too informal to call you Shawna." Kyou mimicked in a high pitched voice.

"YUKI!" I exclaimed. Suddenly, Yuki didn't seem so hot to me anymore.

"Yup." Kyou actually smiled at me. He seemed like a totally different person now that he knew how much we were alike. In fact, he seemed totally out of character.

"You're different." I said. I wondered if I seemed different to him.

"Well, you know. It's different when you realize that you aren't as alone in the world as you thought. And if you tell anyone that I talk this much or was this civil, I'll kill you." Kyou smiled again.

"Wow. Two smiles in five minutes. I must be blessed." I grinned. This was a rare occurrence for me. Sure I smile more than Kyou did, but it was rare for a genuine grin to show through.

"Hey, you just graced me with the most dazzling grin I've never seen." Kyou grinned back.

"Kyou, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful secret relationship." I laughed.

"Agreed." Kyou and I both quickly sombered as both of our families came out of the house behind us.

"I'm sorry, Shawna. Next time, I'll try and do more." Dean whispered to me as he passed. I nodded.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have..." Kaia began, but then shook her head and walked away.

"You." I winsed as I heard Uncle Mitch's voice. "You're one lucky little bitch that these people are genuine Zodiac members. Next time, you won't be so lucky." I relaxed as Uncle Mitch stomped past.

"Oh, and Shawna. Guess who will be living with you from now on?" I stickily sweet voice rang out behind me. "Lovable old me." I turned around to see an annoying looking guy smiling sweetly at me.

"JESSE!" I screamed.


	5. Chapter 5

Author's note: Yeah, I know that the last chapter was kinda weak, but It was late, and I had to make Kyou and Shawna friends SOMEHOW. So, yeah, I'm sorry. oh, yeah, and further on, there is a kissing scene that is almost pointlessly descriptive. I'm sorry for that, too. I was bored.

:-P

I was absolutely seething. Somehow, Jesse had managed to make me look like the bad guy in something I wasn't even aware was an issue! I was not out to destroy Kyou and Tohru's relationship, as he said, and I certainly did NOT want Yuki as well!

"JESSE!" I was pretty sure that steam was coming out of my ears.

"Yes?" Jesse asked, sweetly.

"You have absolutely lost you're mind! I am not some sort of relationship breaking SLUT!" I roared.

"See what I mean?" Jesse asked Dean, who had been talking to Jesse before I arrived. "She just yells at me when I've been nothing but nice."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Maybe you shouldn't provoke her if you don't want her yelling at you." I was glad that Dean was on my side.

"What-? I never-" Jesse started.

"Save your bullshit for someone who actually believes you." A voice cut in from behind us. we all turned to see Kyou. "I can hang out with whoever I want to hang out with, and so can Shawna. If she wants to be my friend, then she should be able to be my friend without a nosey, good-for-nothing cousin starting vicious rumors about her." Kyou's voice was a low growl.

Jesse stared at him stunned. "So what are you saying?"

"A bit dense, are we?" I muttered under my breath.

"First of all, Tohru and I are NOT going out, thus there would be no relationship for Shawna to break into. Second of all, Do you think Shawna would want a damn rat like that?" Kyou was amused by the looks going across Jesse's face before he stomped away.

As Kyou walked away, I ran after him, and gently took his elbow, guiding him to our 'secret spot'. Really It was a small garden where nobody goes.

"Thanks for the save." I breathed.

"No problem. That's what friends are for, right?" Kyou smiled softly. Even though we hang out together regularly, it never ceases to amaze me how different Kyou was when we were alone then he was with others. When I had asked him about it, he said he felt safe with me, like what he tells me will be fully appreciated and not cast aside. He said that when he was with me, he felt like he didn't have to push me away or hide anything from me. And he didn't.

"Yes." I smiled back at Kyou.

"Can I tell you a story?" Kyou asked.

"If you like. I'll listen." I actually loved to listen to Kyou talk. I would close my eyes, let the sun warm my skin, and listen. I truly felt at peace when I he spoke.

"There was this one time, when I was upset because I had snapped at Tohru again. I was curled up on the porch when Shigure found me. He gave me a whole speech, but a summary of it is that one day, a girl will tell me she loves me, and he asked what would I do then. I said i would probably ask her if she was sane. The ironic thing was that Tohru told me that she loved me not two hours later. Of course, she was proclaiming her love for the cat in the Zodiac, but I was surprised. I didn't realize until later that that wasn't the kind of love Shigure was talking about. But now, I think I know what he meant, only... nobody has told me they love me. I... I think I've fallen for the girl. It's kinda scary, you know? I never thought I would be capable of loving anyone..." Kyou's voice trailed off.

"Well now you know you can. Who's the lucky girl?" I asked. Even as I said that, I felt something drop to my stomach, and my chest hurt. Not understanding these feelings, I kept my eyes shut.

"Well, you know her..." Kyou said softly.

"Tohru?" The name jumped off my lips and I felt the pain increase. 'What is this, heart burn?' I thought.

"No." There was an indistinguishable sound in his voice.

"Not Kaia?" I questioned. The pain doubled.

Suddenly, something soft and moist brushed my lips. My eyes shot open, and I realized how close Kyou's glittering red orbs were. Before I could react, Kyou leaned in again and kissed me for a second time. "Does that answer your questions?" he murmured.

"I think so..." I whispered. "Maybe we should try it one more time to make sure..."

Kyou's face got closer again and his lips brushed mine. We stayed that way for a few moments, and I realized that Kyou's rough exterior was totally gone with one soft kiss. I'd seen TV, and how those guys were always smashing their lips against the poor girls lips and shoving their tongues into the girl's mouth. Kyou didn't do this. He softly placed his lips against mine, as if I was a precious gem that could be shattered. He was almost waiting for me to tell him he was allowed to move his mouth against mine and waiting for me to grant him access to explore my mouth with his tongue. I quickly granted him these privileges, moaning softly into his mouth at the heat and intensity of the kiss.

Finally we pulled apart, gasping for air. I was at a loss for words, and, if I didn't know better, he seemed to shy to say anything. "M- maybe I shouldn't have done that..." Kyou stuttered. This was even more uncharacteristic.

"You know," I said, attempting to comfort him. "That was my first kiss. I wouldn't let just anyone steal away my first kiss. Only someone who was really really important to me." It was the best I could do. I wasn't used to having, let alone voicing these emotions.

He looked at me and smiled softly. Then he gathered me into his arms. I loved the feeling of his arms around me. "I wish this moment would last forever..." I whispered, snuggling into his chest.

"Me, too." Kyou replied.

"I- I think that you've opened a flood gate... I'm feeling things... I've never felt before, and I don't just mean being held like this. I don't really know what these emotions are, but I know kissing you and being held by you... it feels so right." I was at a loss for words once again.

"I know." Kyou began to gently stroke my back along my spine, sending warm tingle feelings all over my body. I again, I had no idea what these feeling were, but I knew I didn't want him to stop.

After a while, he did stop. Gently, he hoisted me to my feet with him. "I think I know what I feel." Kyou said. "These words... they linger at the tip of my tongue, longing to be spoken to you... may I?" I nodded, nervously. "I love you." It was almost a whisper, but I could hear it.

Then it all clicked into place. The pain was jealousy, and the warmth was love. It had to be. They were two of the emotions I kept locked away, where nobody could find them, so I couldn't be hurt. Somehow, Kyou had managed to unlock the big steel door holding them captive.

"I love you, too." I whispered the words I swore I would never utter again as long a I lived.


	6. Chapter 6

"Mommy?" A small eight year old Shawna looked up at an woman.

"Leave me alone, you disgusting creature!" The woman screamed. She hurled a magazine at the girl, who just stood there for a moment, stunned. "Okay, Mommy." The little girl smiled as she picked up the magazine. "I'll come back later. I love you."

:-P

A slightly older Shawna, looking about 12, was crying and being held by an older girl.

"She's gone... I loved her, Lilah, and she never even smiled at me! I will never love again!" The 12 year old Shawna sobbed.

"Shhh... I know it hurts, Shawna. I know, but just because your mother wasn't suited to raise you doesn't mean that you should give up on loving!" The girl called Lilah stroked Shawna's hair gently.

:-P

"But I'm your brother, Shawna! You have to give me a chance!" A tall man exclaimed, looking down at a 14 year old Shawna.

"Oh, yeah? I have to give you a chance, huh? You had your chance. It came and went 7 years ago when you walked out, leaving me to take mom's wrath alone. Do you remember? I begged you not to go. I even tried to physically force you to stay, but you just pushed me out of the way and left. You didn't even say good bye! Now you have the gall to walk in here and tell me to give me a chance to be my big brother again? No way, buddy. I might have even considered you if you'd come back when mom died, but where were you the past two years? Thanks, but no thanks. Everyone I need is right over there. They stayed with me through everything!" 14 year old Shawna ranted, motioning to Lilah and Dean.

"You used to love me. What happened?" The guy asked.

Shawna stiffened, then walked away, Dean following after her. Lilah stopped, though.

"She hasn't loved anyone since that bitch mother of yours died. She doesn't even love me and Dean anymore. What made you think you had a chance?" Then Lilah hurried after Shawna and Dean.

:-P

I jerked up in bed, sweating and gasping for air. I hadn't had that dream in ages. Did it star again because I told Kyou I loved him?

Slowly, I got out of bed and reached for the phone. I did the only sensible thing to do. I called my cousin Lilah while going across the hall to sit on Dean's bed while he slept. It was okay- he was a heavy sleeper.

"ello...?" A sleepy voice asked.

"Lilah? It's me." I whispered.

"Shawna! How've you been? I miss you! Are you coming back soon?" The sleep immediately left Lilah's voice.

"I'm alright, I miss you, too, probably not in the near future." I whispered back.

"Okay, what happened. Last time you called me in the middle of the night whispering was to tell me you thought you were going to die the next day and you wanted to spend your last might with your two favorite cousins. You're on Dean's bed again, aren't you?" Lilah accused.

"He didn't wake up last time, did he?" I whispered in defense.

"Okay. What's up?" Lilah asked. She was a considerable amount older than me, in fact, she was 20 while I was only 16, and had taken the role of protector when my mom had died. Lilah was like my lighthouse in a storm.

"That dream about my past happened again. I think it's because I told someone I love them." I said, softly.

"OH. MY. GOD! You've decided to start loving people again! What about me and Dean? Do we get some love, too? We hung through, even during your Queen of Grump stage." There was an excited squeal in my ear. Then sometimes, I thought Lilah was younger than me, only put into a 20 year old body.

Suddenly, a hand reached out, jerked me into a lying down position on the be, and wrapped around my stomach. "Yeah. Do we get some love?" Dean asked.

"Did I wake you up?" I asked, worriedly, rolling to look my cousin in the face.

"Naw. You were fine. Just like last lime. Lilah's the one with the damn loud voice." Dean yawned in my face, then gave me one last squeeze, then released me. I sat up.

"Shut up, Dean!" Lilah's voice rang in my ear.

"So! Anyway! The thing is, I'm not really sure I'm ready to love somebody again... not yet, anyway." I said to both of them.

"Sweetie, It's been 4 years since you decided never to love again. I think it's been long enough." Lilah said gently.

"Kyou is goods for you, Shawna. Don't let him slip away. You may not see it, but ever since you started hanging out with him, you've been so much... lighter. Like the old Shawna." Dean offered.

"How'd you know it was Kyou!" I exclaimed.

"Are you kidding? Have you SEEN the way he looks at you? It's like he's worshiping the very ground you walk on. Hatsuharu mentioned to me, Kyou's been a lot nicer since he started hanging out with you, too. You guys need each other." Dean smiled at me reassuringly. " Now get the hell out of my room. I wanna go back to sleep."

I sat there for a moment, shocked. I quickly said good bye to Lilah (she wanted to go back to sleep, too) and stood up. They were right. I had pushed away and closed off my emotions for much too long.

I turned to look back as I was about to close the door. "Dean?"

"Yeah?" He replied.

"Love you." Then I quietly slipped from his room and sank into a peaceful slumber on my own bed.

:-P

Author's note: Hey, guys. Should I end it here, or are you interested in stretching my brain to see what other yummy things it can churn out? This COULD be a nice ending... but if you really want more, leave me a review and I'll see what I can do.


	7. Chapter 7

**IMPORTANT **Author's note: Okay. I have a slight obsession with lemon and yaoi, and happen to read a lot of it. You're probably thinking, 'alrighty then, I'm slightly disturbed now. Why the heck is she telling us?'. Well, in this chapter, Shawna and Kyou get to talking, and their discussion happens to turn... slightly sexual. It's nothing too bad (I'm putting the reins on myself) because this fic is rated T. But if something like that makes you uncomfortable, skip this chapter and there will be a summary of it at the beginning of the next one. And, while I'm here, sorry it took so long to get this out. length was a request I got, and the others are my standard length, which is not so long, so I wrote two chapters and compiled them and Ta-Da! Chapter seven! So, enjoy.

:-P

The weeks passed uneventfully, with me and Kyou trying out or new- found romance hesitantly. Neither of us were used to this kind of relationship, so it took some getting used to. It was difficult to explain to everyone about our relationship, and frankly, we almost didn't want to tell them. So, we settled for a while with only Dean and Lilah knowing of our relationship. Apparently, Dean was the only one who noticed that Kyou 'worshiped the very ground I walked on'.

I noticed new friendships forming among my two groups of friends, and I was relieved. The two groups seemed almost afraid of each other at first, but now they were talking and laughing and discussing the similarities and differences between our families. We'd all also come around to forgiving Kaia for her heinous crime of tattling.

But then we made the horrible mistake of leaving Kaia alone in the kitchen to make dinner. The incidents that followed this incredibly stupid action was chaos and destruction.

"OH MY GOD!" Dean screamed at his sister as I stared at our house.

"Dean-" Kaia said meekly.

"YOU FUCKING BURNED DOWN THE HOUSE! DON'T YOU 'DEAN' ME! WHERE THE HELL ARE WE SUPPOSED TO LIVE NOW!" Dean, who was usually all smiles and teases, had totally lost his cool when he and I returned home to find it burning to the ground, and kaia sitting in a huddled mass near the smoldering remains.

"Dean." I said, my ice mask falling over my face. I would cry if I didn't put it up, I was sure. Now we would have to move out of Japan. I just knew we wouldn't be able to find another house that accommodates our 'special' needs. We couldn't just live in the middle of the city and risk weather conditions and such affecting us so we transform where prying eyes could see.

"Yeah Shawna?" Dean stopped his mad-man rant long enough to look at me.

I stepped in between him and Kaia (who was still huddled on the ground) and brought my fingers down in between our faces like I was meditating. "Relax and collect your chi or something. Just stop yelling. Your pissing me off and giving me a headache." I said in a slow, commanding tone. Then I turned to Kaia and extended my hand to help her up. "Get up. What were you doing while we were gone?" I made an extreme effort to control my voice and remove all expletives from that sentence.

Kaia took my offered hand and stood up. Sniffling, she said "I- I was trying to make sushi..."

Dean, who had been attempting to meditate, lost all control and began to scream his head off. I on the other hand, just stood there for a second then burst out laughing. "Wha- what's so funny?" Kaia stuttered. I just shook my head and sat on the floor. The laughter was as much laughing because the way Kaia had burned down the house as well as trying to get out all the fear, horror, and anger without hurting anything.

"YOU DON'T HAVE TOO COOK ANYTHING TO MAKE SUSHI! IT'S SERVED COLD! RAW FISH!" Dean screamed. This sentence was followed by a list of expletives that probably deemed him a place in hell.

"But- but I was boiling water." Kaia said in a weak defense.

"WE HAVE AND ELECTRIC STOVE! THERE IS NO FIRE!" I thought that Dean was going to bust that vein on his forehead.

Kaia opened and closed her mouth like a fish out of water. And that was how Shoji found us. And he promptly broke down into hysterical laughter, joining me on the ground, then informed us he had been thinking about remodeling anyway, and this was just the house's way of telling him that it wanted to be remodeled, too.

We checked into a hotel with Shoji all smiles, Dean looking murderess, Kaia looking pathetic, Jesse looking annoyed and me looking like I didn't know I f I should laugh or cry. We went to school the next day with the same expressions on our faces, making it obvious that something was wrong and it was Kaia's fault again.

I left Dean and Kaia to explain to anyone who asked, while following Kyou outside, noticing his beckoning motion as he slipped out the door. "What's up?" I said, as I ran up to him.

Kyou turned around, grabbed me, and kissed me. When he pulled back, he looked at my face, concerned, as I stared at him in shock. He never really started our kisses, and we were on open ground. Any one could see us. "Tell me how to wipe away that sad face." He said, tenderly tucking my hair behind my ear.

I hesitated for a moment, but then pulled Kyou into our secret garden and informed him of our little situation. He understood the danger of living in the city, because the Sohmas live in the wilderness as well.

"So you'll live with us." Kyou said like it was nothing.

"What?" I asked, shocked.

"Well, we are already housing Tohru, what's another three or four people?" Kyou gave me one of the smiles specially reserved for me.

"But what about Yuki and Tohru?" I asked. "Won't they mind?"

"Tohru will love the idea, so we'll tell her first. Then we'll get her to help us convince Yuki. He can't say no to her. Once we're all on board, it won't be hard to convince Shigure to allow you to stay. He can't say no to Tohru either." Kyou reasoned.

"But what about space? Is your house big enough?" I asked.

"What, do you NOT want to come live with me?" Kyou looked hurt for a moment, then answered. "Kaia could bunk with Tohru, Jesse with Yuki, Shoji and Dean with Shigure, and you with me."

"I do, I just don't want you to get in trouble, that's all." I replied. "And, don't you think that the relationship we're trying so hard to hide will be made quite obvious if we sleep in the same room?"

"Don't worry, Mom, I can keep my hands to myself. And it's the only way to fit you guys into the house. There is noway we could fit both you and Kaia into Tohru's room. Why'd you guys have to have so many girls? We only have one." Kyou retorted.

"It's not your hands I'm worried about," I gave a discrete look down, then continued. "And we only have one more girl in our house that you do!" I stuck out my tongue.

"That's just cruel. You think I can't control my hormones?" Kyou pretended to look hurt.

"I don't think. I know." I replied, with a wicked smile.

"And what do you base this accusation on?" Kyou shot back.

I made my face all serious (which took effort, because of what I was about to say), looked Kyou in the eyes, and said "Kyou, the reason I am worried about sleeping in the same room as you is that I'm not sure I would be able to control myself. I would most likely end up jumping you, and screwing you silly."

I saw his eyes widen. I stepped back (I'd gotten rather close for effect), and looked down at his crotch. Sure enough, there was a slight bulge. He turned bright red when he realized where I was looking, and what I had just tested.

"That, love, is what I base my accusation on. I didn't even have to touch you, or myself for that matter- not that I would. By the way, that wasn't true. I have self control. I wouldn't jump you, unless to beat you up. Now I'd go take care of that before it becomes noticeable if I were you." I smirked.

Kyou glared at me, then rushed off, presumably to the men's room. I laughed. It was fun torturing Kyou like that. May be I should do it more often. Now, on to the next thing. How to convince Tohru that Shoji, Dean, Kaia, and myself moving in with them was a good idea...

I walked to the school building in search of Tohru five minutes later, figuring I'd just say it was Kyou's idea. I found Tohru standing with my other friends, and she rushed over to me when she saw me.

"Oh! Shawna, I heard what happened! I'm so so sorry!" Tohru exclaimed.

"Oh, you heard." I said, trying to sound surprised. 'Well, Kyou and I were talking about it and he suggested something, and he was going to run it by you, but he had some... issues and had to go to the bathroom, so I came instead."

"What idea?" Tohru asked, her face open and caring.

"Well, he suggested that we move in with you guys. I didn't think you guys would go for it, but he insisted we ask." I replied.

Tohru just stared at me for a second. Then she jumped and hugged me. "Yes yes yes! That would be awesome! It would be so much fun to have more girls around the house! I'll help you convince Yuki and Shigure! Yay!" She did a little dance-jump thingie, then ran over and grabbed Yuki's arm, dragging him back to me.

"Uh..." I said slowly. Yuki and I hadn't really talked since he found out that I was the cat from my family. "Hi." I muttered, hesitantly.

"Kyou and Shawna came up with this really great idea, Yuki!" Tohru bounced.

"What?" Yuki asked.

"Well, they thought that maybe Shawna's family could move in with our family. Please please please? It would be so much fun! And I'm getting tired of being the only girl in the house." Tohru begged.

Yuki stared at her for a moment then said, "I don't see why not. Curna-san is welcome in our home." He smiled at me. Relieved, I smiled back. He didn't hate me because I was the cat.

"Yay!" Tohru cried again. I couldn't help but smile at how happy she seemed at this idea. "Now all that's left is convincing Shigure!"

"I don't think Shigure will mind." Yuki laughed, also amused with Tohru's excitement.

Tohru skipped away happy as could be. Yuki and I stood next to each other, watching her. "I could see where she would get kinda lonely without any other girls in the house." I said softly. "I just hope she doesn't expect me to be of much help. I don't know how to be girly." I suddenly realized that it was Yuki I was talking to, and not Kyou, and shut my mouth. I didn't know how my different emotions and feelings would hit him. I couldn't risk showing him my gentler side. I pulled back inside my shell.

Yuki looked at me strangely. "Talk to me." Was all he said, though.

"What?" I was genuinely confused, and accidentally let it flash across my face for a moment.

"What you said. You seemed like you were actually telling me your true feelings. Not that crap you feed the world." Yuki was still looking at me with that strange look on his face.

"What the hell?" I asked, kinda freaking out inside.

"I can tell when someone is feeding me bullshit. After all, that's what I've been doing for as long as I can remember." Yuki then shrugged and the look left his face. "All I'm saying is that if you need someone to talk to, you can talk to me." Then he walked away to join the others. After a moment, I joined them, too. Maybe I had the wrong impression of Yuki. 'Maybe some time I'll take him up on that offer...' I thought.

And so, we settled into our new lives in Shigure Sohma's house with the help of a very cute and persuasive Tohru Honda. She's a miracle worker, I'm telling you.


	8. Chapter 8

Author's note: As promised, here is the summary of the previous chapter. Kyou and Shawna decide not to tell anyone about their relationship. Kaia accidentally burned down the house while trying to make sushi (no, we don't know what's wrong with her, just that she is the only human who can burn down a house while making sushi on an electric stove, and yes, I know you don't cook sushi, that's the whole point.) Kyou and Shawna are testing their relationship, while trying to figure out where the Curnas can live. Finally, they end up moving into the Sohma's house, which will prove interesting, considering the sleeping arrangements. Can Kyou keep his hand to himself while Shawna sleeps not 5 feet away?

:-P

"Good morning, Shawna! You're up early!" Tohru came into the kitchen where I was intent on making pancakes. I had found out(with horror) that Tohru, Yuki, Kyou, and Shigure had never had pancakes before, so I was making them.

"Yeah, well, this is what I had to do at our house, so I might as well do it here, too." I muttered, mixing the batter with a stare that could cook them then and there.

"Well, you don't have to do it all the time, because I make breakfast a lot. What are you making?" Tohru asked.

"Pancakes." I replied.

As I grunted this statement, Dean entered the kitchen and came up to hug me. "Are you making this wonderful smell, cuz?" He asked.

"Yeah? And what of it?" I joked.

Dean laughed, took two fingerfuls of batter, smeared one on my nose, then danced away, sticking the other in his mouth. I shook the wooden spoon at him and turned back to my bowl as Kyou entered the room.

"Good morning, Kyou!" Tohru said to Kyou.

"Yo." Kyou said, then walked up behind me, and discreetly smacked my butt and muttered "bitch" under his breath. Dean, noticing his movements, asked Tohru to help him with something in the other room.

"What are you bitching me for? I'm making your breakfast, you ass wipe." I asked, once they were gone.

"I haven't forgiven you for what you did yesterday. You could have at least finished what you started." Kyou glared.

I smiled innocently, then shrugged. Kyou shook his head, then kissed me passionately. I responded, then pulled away. "Hey, hey, your gonna make me burn breakfast! Make yourself useful and hand me that plate over there." I motioned with my wooden spoon.

"Why do you have batter on your nose?" Kyou asked as he fetched the plate.

"Dean attacked me." I answered with a joking sparkle in my eyes.

"Hey, now, it wasn't as much of an attack as it was a brotherly love tease." Dean said, who had been watching from the door frame.

"That doesn't change the face that you assaulted my nose." I replied, mock-glaring at him while wiping off my nose. "Watch this." I whispered to Kyou.

As I turned back to pancake making, Dean began to sneak up to me again. This was a never ending battle. Every morning, he would attack me with whatever I was making. At first, I had been angry, but now I've become so accustomed to it that I probably couldn't start my day with out it.

SMACK. My wooden spoon landed on Dean's hand, leaving an angry red mark. "Owwwww Shawna!" He cried, and glared at me. I grinned. "Wait until they're done. You'd think I starved you or something! Geez." I replied.

Scared of getting fwhapped by my spoon again, Dean fell back. "How can you put up with that, man? All the violence! I don't envy you." Dean shook his head in mock pity.

I turned around and hissed at him. "Cruel, cruel! I call cruelty to kitties!" I cried.

"I call being really loud really early in the morning." Kaia's sleepy voice came from the door. I shut down, brain registering the outsider. Not someone who knows me, and not someone who I can trust not to hurt me. I turned back to cooking, ice mask in place.

"You know, your lucky." I heard Dean say softly to Kyou, assuming neither Kaia or I could here him. "She usually doesn't act like that with anyone but me and Lilah, which is why she and I get up so early. She doesn't accept people easily. Most of her family has been rejected by her. So... It's just weird, seeing her act like that when someone else is near. But it's good. Maybe she's finally begun to heal. Maybe you accomplished what Lilah and I have been trying to do for four years now. If so, thank you. It's painful to watch someone you love hurt, you know?"

"I... I know." Was all Kyou said. I turned back around with two plates of pancakes in my hands, pretending I didn't hear them. I thrust one into each of their hands, with syrup I had acquired from Shoji (he's a never ending food supply. I have no idea where it all comes from). Then I walked over hand handed one to Kaia.

"Um..." Kyou was staring at the pancakes like they were from another planet.

Dean laughed at him. "Kyou, let me introduce you to the fork. In America, we had food from every country, so we needed utensils that would suit all. Most foods my talented cousin makes, you will need to use a fork, knife, and spoon. No chopsticks." Dean handed Kyou a fork and showed him how to use it.

"There are more on the stove. Dean, I leave you to educate anyone else who comes in. I'm gonna take a shower." I left the room, before more 'outsiders' came in.

"Hey, Shawna! Are the pancakes done?" Tohru asked.

"Yeah. Dean'll show you how to eat them. I'm going to take a shower. Can I change in your room?" Tohru, on the other hand was a different story. She was so cute, such a bubble. I didn't think it was humanly possible for her to hurt me. I felt at ease showing her some of my playful side, even if it was just a little.

"Sure!" Tohru was about to walk past me when Yuki stumbled down the stairs and almost fell. Natural instinct made me leap forward and catch him, but when he was balanced, he just sort of leaned on me.

"Uh... Yuki? What're you doing?" I asked, staring at his disheveled head of hair on my chest.

"Tee hee. He does that. Yuki-kun is not a morning person. You can kinda point him in the right direction and give him a little propulsion, and he'll go." Tohru was smiling.

"Uh... okay." I lifted Yuki, pointed him towards the kitchen and gave him a gentle push. Sure enough, he went on his way off to the kitchen, Tohru following him to make sure he didn't bump into anything.

"Alrighty then." I muttered to myself. Maybe living with the Sohmas was going to be a little weirder than I thought.

:-P

Author's note: Yeah, I know I made one at the beginning, too, but this one id different, kinda like a P.P.S., you know? Well, I thought I'd apologize for the lack of cliff hangers at the end of these last few chapters. There was nothing in I could use as a cliff hanger... well, they'll be coming back soon, so, fret not! Oh, yeah, and I really love hearing what you guys have to say about my writing! My brother says it's giving me a big head, but, I feel all fuzzy and happy to see you guys like my stuff! U never thought I could write well! Thanks for your support! You keep it up, and I'll keep up the writing, k? Thanks! Love you all, Dark Kitti (meow)


	9. Chapter 9

BANG! BANG! BANG! My head was feeling sore, but that was probably because I was banging it against the wall. It was so... loud. Everyone was stepping on everyone else's nerves. The house is too small to accommodate two families. Right now, there was a raging war going on between Kaia and Jesse, and somehow Dean had been pulled into it. Shigure and Shoji seemed to be trying to find the best position NOT to be noticed by the rampaging teens, Tohru was kind of just sitting there and letting out a nervous giggle from time to time, Kyou and Yuki were just staring at them, while I was just watching them from my position by the stairs and banging my head on the wall.

"Well, damn, Kaia! Who's fault is it that we're here anyway? You have no right to be complaining about anything! Especially to the people who were kind enough to take us in!" Dean shouted. I was surprised and impressed. Dean was relatively keeping his cool.

"It's not my fault! Jesse wouldn't help me, so I had to do it by myself!" Kaia shouted back.

"You should know that you don't cook sushi, you idiot!" Jesse exclaimed.

"Guys, you shouldn't fight..." Tohru attempted.

"Well, I didn't know, and you couldn't spare your precious time to show me!" Kaia yelled.

"Damn, will you ALL shut up! Your pissing me off!" I screamed, pretty much randomly. I just couldn't take it anymore.

"You stupid cat! Stop getting into other people's business!" Jesse yelled at me.

"It is my business if your yelling about it in my vicinity!" I cried, clenching and unclenching my fists. Composure. I needed composure.

"Well, it's not my fault that you can't control your emotions and don't want to explode in front of your boyfriend! Everyone else can just sit there without getting involved in our argument!" Jesse yelled.

I froze. How did JESSE know about me and Kyou? My eyes darted to Dean but he shook his head slightly. He couldn't have caught us at any time... we were so careful! This wasn't how we wanted everyone to find out. I could feel everyone's eyes on me, but instead of blushing, I just walked slowly to Jesse.

SMACK! I slapped Jesse, and he was too surprised to defend himself, so it landed right across the face, leaving an angry red mark and some blood from the corner of his mouth. "You speak but nothing but lies and manipulations come out. You are a rat. A dirty little rat that deserves to be exterminated. If only you could see, nobody really likes you. Who could like a dirty little rat?" I spoke softly, but my tone spoke volumes of pure anger and violence. I turned to leave, and noticed Yuki, looking more surprised than anyone else in the room. I realized that my words, meant to hurt Jesse, may have hurt him, too. I motioned slightly for him to follow me if he wished, meaning to apologize.

Then Jesse spoke, and I was frozen in my tracks. "Don't any of you see it? It's obvious! Especially because of how she reacted to what I said! She and Kyou! They're always disappearing together, and they share a room! You can't say you didn't see it!"

I slowly turned around again, and was careful not to look at Kyou, instead, turned a gaze of pure hatred on Jesse.

"Shawny, don't look at him like that! Because... because I've noticed it, too. The way you look at him... the way you guys act when you think no one's looking... but tell me I'm wrong, Shawny, please..." Kaia looked at my pleadingly. Kaia was part of the reason I hadn't wanted to tell people about Kyou and my relationship. She had a monster crush on him, and, though she did stupid things, she's my cousin, and I didn't want to betray and hurt her.

Dean stood up and walked to me, whispering softly. "You might as well tell them, Shawna. It's over. I'm sorry."

"I- I..." I didn't know what to say. Kaia's desperate face, Dean's apologetic one... then Jesse's satisfied smirk. There was no way I was going to let him get the last word. I glanced at Kyou. He shrugged.

"You know what? Kyou and I are going out. We have been for some time. We didn't tell anyone because this was very experimental and new for both of us, and we didn't know how to go about it. And... and now you know. So there's nothing to hide anymore." I nodded in satisfaction, surprised at myself for saying that much. Jesse had just made me so angry.

"Shawny, how could you? You knew... you knew how I felt..." Kaia broke down into sobs, and I walked over and rested my hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Kaia. But it just sort of happened. You know... please, don't be angry with me." The words... I just said them as they came to me. Before, I would have never considered saying something like that. Deciding to continue these strange actions, I did what my instincts told me to do and knelt next to her, wiping her tears. Kaia leaned into my hand and stared at me with watery eyes.

"You're so different. Before, you would have just stared at me and walked away. If it's because of him, there's no way I could be angry. I love you, Shawny. I know you don't feel that way towards me, in fact, you don't deal love at all, but I don't care. It makes me happy to see you happy, because it hurt me to see you so sad for so long. If you're happy now, with Kyou, if he can make you love things, please, make the most of it." Then she looked at Kyou. "And you. Don't you dare hurt her!"

I stared at Kaia. She loved me? Since when? When did Kaia actually acknowledge my existence before we moved to Japan? I wracked my memory. Kaia had always been in my classes, and more than once, I had caught her watching me. I had always assumed it was a look of pity because I was the cat. Now that I thought about it, it was more like a look of concern. Those things that would appear on my desk if I had had an especially bad day. I always thought they were from Lilah or Dean, only neither would fess up. It must have been Kaia. Those little things, like fresh cut flowers, or some candies with a note that said, 'Smile, you look so pretty when you do' or something similar had always made me feel so much better. And then I remembered a memory long forgotten. Kaia and I were little, and we were playing in the yard. We couldn't have been older that four or five. Kaia's father had come, and yelled at Kaia for playing with me, calling me a filthy cat and other cruel things. Kaia had looked determinedly into her father's face and said "Daddy, Shawny is MY friend, not your friend. Shawny is fun to play with and nice. You are being mean to my friend." Then she had run to me and we had started playing again, leaving her father open-mouthed.

"Kaia... it was you. It was you and I never realized." I pulled her into my embrace and held her. Kaia knew I didn't know it was her doing all these nice things for me, and she had never once spoke up and said 'I'm the one leaving you those things! Give me credit for them!' Was her seeing me happier because of them enough for her? I realized that Kaia had always been hanging around when I was near Dean. I couldn't believe it. I had always thought Kaia was shallow, but in reality, all she ever wanted was to see me happy.

"I was happy that you were smiling. I just didn't want to see you sad, so I would try and make you smile. I figured you wouldn't accept them from me, because you pushed everyone away except Dean and Lilah, and, after a while, even them, so I watched from a distance. All I want is you to be happy." Kaia smiled at me, and tears welled up in my eyes. I couldn't help it. I blinked them back and squeezed Kaia once more, then stood up and turned to Jesse.

"Are you satisfied, you damn rat? You tried to hurt me, and ended up just making me feel better. That's why rats are so stupid." I stopped, realizing that my words stung more than one person in the room once again. I turned to Yuki and said "I don't mean to offend you when I say things like that, Yuki. You are a good person, and my lumping you together with that scum," I motioned to Jesse, "Is unforgivable. Please, if I ever say anything cruel about rats, know I mean nothing of the sort to you. My hatred and rivalries do not leave my family. I would prefer to have you as a friend than a rival, anyway." I smiled, hoping that corrected the cruel things I had said earlier.

"I take no offense Curna-san. I understand and never thought that your words were directed towards me. We are friends, are we not?" He smiled back. I nodded. Then feeling suddenly exhausted from speaking that much in less than and hour, I promptly left the room, went upstairs, and went to sleep.

On my way upstairs, I heard the voices behind me. "Ah, young love. How beautiful." (Shigure)

"Shut up Shigure!" (Kyou)

"Who would have guessed. Someone could actually enjoy your company. I'm shocked." (Yuki)

"Stay out of this you stupid rat!" (Kyou)

"Hey, I'm just surprised Kaia has a heart. I was sure she was a heartless demon." (Dean)

"DEAN!" (Kaia)

"Owowowowowowowow! I was joking! I was joking! I love you, sis! OW!" (Dean)

"You guys really shouldn't fight..." (Tohru)

CRASH! (Kyou being thrown through door again because he tried to take on Yuki. Again)

"Oh, dear. You broke my house again." (Shigure)

I couldn't help but smile. Those people were my new family. I could now say that I loved them all, and without them, I would still be grumpy and pushing everyone away. Well, everyone but Jesse. I hate Jesse.


	10. Chapter 10

I was happy. I was actually happy. I never thought that me, the cat, could be happy. I always thought that it wasn't allowed or something. Well, I was right. It's not allowed. Damn the world for being so damn nosy. Shigure. I want to kill him. He told Akito about me and Kyou. Needless to say, he was... upset. He didn't think Kyou should be allowed to be happy, just as I had assumed. And Akito contacted Uncle Mitch. To top it all of, he had got an affirming report from Jesse. Damn him. And I never would have known until it was too late if it wasn't for Lilah.

RING. RING. RING. I blearily reached for the phone. It was extremely early in the morning and I could see Kyou was about to wake up across the room.

"Hello? Who calls so damn early in the morning?" I hissed into the phone.

"Shawna? Shawny, there's been a problem. It's about you and Kyou. Uncle Mitch knows, and he's not happy. I don't know what to do... I'm supposed to be getting on a plane in ten minutes to come to Japan! I'm in the bathroom! I had to call you, warn you! Uncle Mitch is coming! He's so angry! Shawny, I don't know if this is any help, but I just thought you should know! I- I have to go now. They're calling me. At any rate, well, be there by tomorrow! I love you, Shawna, I'm so sorry." Lilah hung up, leaving me speechless. Thank God she had gotten to warn me. But what could I do about it? I curled up into the fetal position and thought, long and hard, until the sun rose.

At seven AM, I sat at the table, staring down. I knew what I had to do, no matter how much it hurt. The weather was perfect. It was rainy and miserable. Absolutely perfect for what was going to go down today. Thunder cracked in the skies, and I heard footsteps on the stairs. I turned to look to see Kyou.

"Yo." He said, smiling at me lovingly. He reached out to touch my face and I winced at his smile and shied away from his touch. "What's wrong?" The concern was evident on his face. I didn't want to have to do it. I didn't want to have to hurt his tender heart.

"Don't..." My voice was hoarse. I cleared my throat and tried again. "Don't touch me. Stay away..." I had to make it hurt, so he wouldn't come after me when I left to deter my family. I thought to myself 'If you hurt him now, you may ruin your happiness, but at least he'll have the chance to be happy some other time, with someone else. If you stay with him, Uncle Mitch will come here and hurt him. You're doing this to protect him. Don't chicken out!'

"What's wrong?" Kyou asked again and looked at me worriedly. He reached out to me again. I wanted to lean into his caress and let him sooth me, but I knew I couldn't.

I jumped up, trying to make myself angry about something, anything. "I said don't touch me!" I cried, desperate. I had to do this. "You... stay away from me! Don't come near me! I don't want you! You were a fun toy to play with, but now you've gotten old! Leave me alone! I- I can't stand you!" I could see my words cutting into him, hurting him, and I wanted to cry. My precious Kyou... he looked so injured, standing there, staring at me. He was looking at me like I had just ripped out his heart, and in a manner, I just had.

"But- why..." I could see the pain, and hear it in his voice. I didn't want to have to see it, hear it. I wanted to shout 'just kidding!' or something. I wanted to make him smile. Anything but this...

"Didn't you hear me! You were nothing but a little toy to play with! I don't feel like playing anymore, so just leave me alone!" I could feel the tears begin to choke me. I wanted to break down into hysterical sobs and tell him everything, but he wouldn't understand. Uncle Mitch was different from Akito. I couldn't let anything happen to Kyou.

"Shawna?" I heard a soft voice from behind me, and whipped around to see Dean standing in the doorway, looking at me. The majority of the rest of the house was watching from the top of the stairs. My yelling must have woken them up. Now they all knew. They all saw how cruel I was, and none of them would follow me when I left. I couldn't risk anyone coming along. I had to protect them all.

I turned back to Kyou, and saw tears silently running down his face. No. Nonononono! I didn't want to see him cry, especially because of me. I had to go anyway... I ran out of the house, feeling the eyes following me as I left.

When the Sohma home was almost out of sight, I turned around and whispered, 'I love you, Kyou Sohma..."

:-P

It took me an hour to walk to the hotel where my family was staying. The first person who saw me was Lilah, and she ran to me, throwing her arms around me neck and crying, "Shawny, Shawna, my little Shawna! I'm so so sorry! Shawna..."

I pulled back from her. I was closed to the world, as I had been for the last four years. "It's taken care of. I've come to take the heat, then you can all go home." I stated. I could see the surprise on Lilah's face, but she knew better than to push me, and just nodded.

As I made my way to Uncle Mitch, I saw pieces of my family here and there. There was Helen the horse and Tommy the rabbit, who looked at me like they wanted to say something, but one glare from me shut them up. Finally, I arrived.

"Uncle Mitch?" I called, entering his room.

After hearing that I had 'fixed the problem of me being happy', Uncle Mitch smiled and said, "Well, I am so glad. But you still must take your punishment for that time." I nodded. I knew it would come to this. I would not get out of this bruise-free. I got the worst beating of my life right there.

Afterwards, I walked home in the rain. Lilah wanted to drive me, but I just ignored her. As I stumbled down the path to the Sohma home, the rain got harder, and the thunder louder, and my vision became so bad, I could barely stay on the path. I finally collapsed on a tree, holding it as my life support. One of my eyes were swollen shut, while the other was close, my nose was broken in at least two places, my lips were cracked and bloody, the bruises on my cheeks were beginning to swell as well, my left ankle was sprained, and I believed my right arm was broken. Yet I was proud of myself. Uncle Mitch was leaving, Kyou and the others were safe, and I had taken a brutal beating without making one noise.

"Curna-san?" I heard my voice as I was about to collapse fully to the ground, forget the tree. it was too hard to hold onto with one arm. "Curna-san? What happened! Curna-san, can you hear me?" I looked up to see Yuki bending over me from my position, slumped against the tree. That's when I lost it. The violent sobs tore through my body and I threw myself into Yuki's lap. "Curna-san?" He touched my head gently. "What happened to you?"

"Uncle Mitch... was here... he found out about me and Kyou... I couldn't let him hurt Kyou... I couldn't let him hurt any of you... had to protect... everyone... he's leaving now... please, don't tell anybody... they don't need to know... just muggers did this to me... or a gang...yes... I fought a gang... they don't have to know it was Uncle Mitch... please..." The words tumbled from my broken lips. I was surprised that my voice sounded so strange, and speaking hurt. Maybe my jaw was broken as well. As I sobbed and stared up at Yuki, begging him to not tell anybody, I could see the internal war raging inside him.

"Alright, Curna-san, but on one condition. We HAVE to take you to see Hatori. You're badly injured. You can't stay like this." Yuki helped me up, and I nodded. He helped take me back to the house, where everyone leapt up upon our entry. I must have looked pretty gruesome for the reactions I got.

"Shigure, call Hatori, she's in bad shape. Someone get me ice. She's bleeding pretty badly, and I don't know for how long, we have to stop the bleeding." Yuki seemed to be trying to keep calm while jostling everyone else into action. Everyone did what Yuki said, and he lay me on the floor, holding my head in his lap, and attempting to stop the bleeding.

I looked over myself. Yup. My arm was definitely broken. It's not supposed to twist in that direction... And then Shigure was back. "Hatori is on his way. He should be here soon." He informed us. I had stopped sobbing and crying before we got to the house, and made no noise when Hatori arrived and doctored my wounds. I did pass out from the pain when he began to twist my arm back into the position it was supposed to be in, though.

When I woke up, I the first thing I saw was Momiji. He began to go on about something, how the a whole lot of people came, and, oh! he was supposed to tell Hatori when I woke up. But his voice was a dull roar, because the next thing I saw was Kyou, slumped across the table, visibly asleep. But he was there, in the room.

"Curna-san, I am Hatori Sohma, I didn't introduce myself properly yesterday." The attractive man spoke.

"Shawna. Everyone but Yuki calls me Shawna." I replied.

"You were badly injured. If you don't mind me asking, how did you get those injuries? Yuki sad you muttered something about a gang when he found you?" Hatori asked. So Yuki had kept his promise.

"A gang... attacked me. I think I was too obnoxious or something. That's all." I replied. Hatori looked at me strangely, but nodded. He then began to change my bandages.

I stared at Kyou. I couldn't help it. Hatori noticed my stare and said, without looking up, "He's been there since we put you in here. It's been over 24 hours, I think he passed out from exhaustion."

"Hey, hey, I don't care if the doctor is with her right now! I'm her cousin/ guardian/ loved one! And I have to see my Shawny!" The commotion outside told me that there was someone fighting to get in. Then Lilah burst into my room. "Shawnyyy!" She cried, and ran over and threw her arms around my neck. "When Dean called, I got on the first plane available and came! Oh, this is sooo awful!" She spouted. I looked at her strangely and she hissed in my ear, "That Yuki boy spoke to me, because Dean called me and told me the extent of your injuries, and i came here as soon as Uncle Mitch would let me go. Told me 'bout the cover story. I admire your bravery, Shawny."

Hatori, finished changing my bandages, got up to leave. "If you leave this bed before three weeks is up, I will strap you to it. You're injuries are so severe, that you risked permanently injuring yourself if you move. It's amazing that you made it to the house."

"What exactly are her injuries, Doc?" Lilah asked.

Hatori glanced at her, then said, "Fractured jaw, broken nose in two places, broken right arm in two places as well, a chipped bone in her ankle, and three broken fingers. All other injuries are external and should clear in a matter of days." Then he left, leaving Lilah wide-eyed.

"Why won't you tell anyone it was Uncle Mitch, Shawna?" Lilah asked me.

"How much did Yuki tell you?" I asked.

"Just that you didn't want anyone to know it was Uncle Mitch. He said he couldn't tell me why." Lilah looked at me concerned.

"You don't need to know much more. Just that it involves trying to protect people by hurting them temporarily. That's all." I looked away. I had told Yuki out of desperation that night. Nobody else could know what I have done.

Lilah looked at me sadly. "Back to the way things were, then, eh? You are back in your shell, my love?"

"Appears so..." I whispered. "Appears so..."

:-P

Author's note: Okay, peeps, don't hate me! I know it was sad and all... but there is no way I'll let it stay this sad! Do not fret, for it WILL get better (eventually)!


	11. Chapter 11

Oh, the light was so bright. It hurt as I opened my eyes and rolled over, burring my head in my pillow. Damn, what was it about being hurt that makes you so sleepy? Probably all the people who come and visit and never stop talking. It's like a defense mechanism or something.

I glanced across the room. Kyou was still sitting there, at the table in the room we shared, watching me. I think the thought I was still asleep. Yuki had come and visited me a lot, and had become my life line. He was the only person I could talk to without worrying about saying something that would let others know the truth.

"Curna-san? How are you feeling?" I heard Yuki's voice. He was sitting in a chair, next to the bed.

"Hi." I said softly, so Kyou couldn't hear.

"What is it?" Yuki asked, at the same volume.

"I'm going to try and fix... some of the damage today. It might get ugly, so you don't have to stay."

Yuki looked surprised, but then he nodded. "I'm behind you, Curna-san."

"Kyou?" I asked.

"His head shot up. Then he slowly turned to look at me. "What?"

"When I said... that stuff, I was needlessly harsh. Can you please forgive me for my cruel words?" The cruelness that was necessary before.

"You expect me to... just accept your apology and be happy with it? I don't like being a toy, Shawna. I thought you were... different." Kyou said, his voice ice. I winced.

"Kyou, I'm... I'm sorry." I whispered, my words sounding weak to even my own ears.

"No, Shawna. No! I loved you. You were my life, my everything. Do you know what it's like to see that your everything used you... that your everything never even loved you back!" Kyou jumped up and went to slam his fist into the table.

Suddenly, Yuki was next to him, grabbing his wrist, preventing it from colliding with the table. "She loved you more than you will ever know." Yuki said in a low, even, and deadly tone.

Kyou searched his eyes for any sign of lying or joke, and when Yuki was sure he had found none, he released Kyou's wrist and left the room. Kyou sank limply down into his chair. I didn't know what else to say, so we just sat there in silence.

"Tell me why." Kyou said, finally.

"Why what?" I replied, jolted out of my dazed state.

"Why you hurt me, why you chose that moment, that day to tell me those things. I KNOW it wasn't because I was just a toy for you to play with. Tell me the real reason." Kyou looked at me, his expression unreadable.

"I- what I said was the truth." I said. I stared at my hands.

"Why then?" He requested again.

"It just sort of burst out, you know?" That was sort of the truth. The lies had burst from my mouth desperately.

"I know when your lying to me, Shawna." Kyou said. 'No you don't' I thought.

"Why did you stay with me the entire time I was out?" I decided to change the subject.

"Because it's my room! And... I love you." Kyou stared down. Then he looked up and came towards me, tears about to stream down his face. "I was afraid Shawna. So afraid..." He had arrived by the side of my bed and was reaching for my face. I didn't pull away. I wanted him to touch me. He slowly caressed my cheek before speaking again. "I was afraid at every moment that I was going to lose you." Kyou leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine. I could taste his salty tears on them, and it made me want to cry, too.

I couldn't take it. If he kept kissing me, I would forget everything and tell him the entire story, even more than I had told Yuki. As much as I hated myself for it, I pushed him away. "Don't..." I whispered.

"Tell me you won't disappear." Kyou said, holding my face in his hands. "I don't care if you love me or not! I just want you near me." His voice became almost frantic.

'Of course I would never leave you! I love you more than anything else in the universe! I will ALWAYS be by your side. That's what love is, right? Not only thinking about yourself, but another as well? That's why I'm doing this! It's because I love you that i must stay away from you. I could never allow my selfish desires to cause you harm. So, I will protect you with every fiber in my being, my love.' My mind screamed. I knew I couldn't say those words that my mind longed to, but I sure as hell wanted to. Instead, I stuttered out, "I-I can't make that promise."

I saw pain flash across Kyou's face, and i wanted to cry. I knew I was doing the right thing. I couldn't have Uncle Mitch coming BACK to Japan.

"Please. All I want is to feel your presence. Please." I had never heard Kyou beg before. I was shocked.

"Where do you expect me to go, anyway? I'm pretty much stuck in the bed for 2 weeks, the house for a month or so, and even when that time is up, where else would I live?" I looked away. I couldn't face him right now.

So weeks passed uneventfully, and I was soon wandering around the house, casts and all. Everyone seemed to think that I needed help, which was quite annoying. I was fine on my own. Hatori came to give me regular check-ups, but i think he came so often to talk to Dean. The two were polar opposites, yet they got along like they'd been friends since birth. Even Shigure admitted that Dean managed to 'bring out Hatori's inner boy' that, apparently, he hadn't even had when he was a boy. Well, that's Dean for you.

Even though everyone was being kind to me, and I was healing nicely, I wasn't happy. I had a lot on my mind, and didn't know if I should tell anyone or not. Finally it got to the point at which i couldn't stand it, and decided to confide in Yuki.

"Yuki?" I asked.

"Yeah?" He continued writing, wrinkling his nose in concentration.

"If I tell you something, will you promise not to laugh at me?" I fidgeted nervously.

"I would never laugh at you, Curna-san." Yuki finally looked up from his homework.

"I want my happiness back, Yuki." I began, but didn't continue.

"It is natural to want your happiness, Curna-san. Is that all this is about?" He smiled at me.

"No. You don't understand. I want my happiness so bad, that I'll do anything to attain it once again." Again, I couldn't continue.

"Is your happiness not Kyou?" Yuki questioned.

"Yes. Kyou is my happiness." I was trying to think of a way to put my thoughts into words without sounding insane.

"Well, in a way, Kyou is still with you, just not... romantically with you." Yuki's cheeks tinged pink as he said this.

"Yes, but I can't be happy with my happiness until I can hold my happiness and not worry about consequences." No... there was no way I could say it that i wouldn't sound nuts. "I want to break the curse, Yuki." I said it determinedly, but bit my bottom lip as Yuki stared at me, open-mouthed.

"Curna-san... If you know a way to break the curse... If you can free us, I... I would be grateful to you for as long as I lived." Yuki spoke seriously.

"I don't know anything set in stone, but I have some ideas. If this works, we'd finally be able to lead normal lives, governing ourselves. It would be awesome." I stared off into space, lost in my thoughts.

"If there's anything i can do to help, tell me." Yuki suddenly sounded determined. He was behind me 100.

"If I'm right, we're going to need every single Zodiac member from our families to do something. Do you think there is a way to do that?" I asked.

"We could... just I think we'd need help. I can think of a few people from my family we can trust, what about you?" Yuki replied.

"Lilah and Dean. They'd be all for it, I'm sure." I nodded.

"You get them, and I'll call Hatsuharu and Momiji. Then we'll think of something." Yuki jumped up and dashed off like someone had lit a fire under his butt.

I was glad I would have help with my plan. When Yuki and I had gathered our four 'followers', I stood in front of them and addressed them with a serious face.

"You four are Yuki and my own most trusted relatives and friends. We brought you here to discuss a topic we hope you will agree with." I paused, letting my words sink in. Taking a deep breath, I began again. "If all goes according to plan, we will be free individuals."

There reactions were the desired ones. Shocked approval. "But how?" Lilah thought to ask.

"I have an idea, but it sounds so simple that it sounds stupid. I think all we need to do is defy the head of our families." I searched my cohort's eyes, one by one, nervously.

"Easier said than done. You know we're bound to do what Uncle Mitch says, and we can't defy him." Dean pointed out. Nobody could defy their 'God'.

"Yes, that is true. But if we wish to be free, then we must do it. And I think the key is Tohru Honda." Again, I surveyed their faces.

"How is Tohru the key?" Momiji asked. He'd been unusually quiet.

"She's never going to go to the New Year's Eve banquet, right?" They all nodded. "Yuki has explained to me how Akito has been trying to draw you all away from Tohru every chance he gets. Apparently, he has spread his dislike of he to Uncle Mitch somehow. At least that's the report I got from Becky. So I figure that if we tell the heads of our families that we are going to spend New Years with Tohru, they'll give us a direct order to come the to New Year's banquet." I explained my theory.

"There is a downside to this plan, Shawny. What if it doesn't work? Then we'll have sit through a torturous night, missed the banquet, and angered the heads of our families by disobeying a direct order. I don't know about you guys," Lilah looked at the Sohmas, "But Uncle Mitch would make Shawny's current injuries look like mere scratches." Lilah finished, looking at me sadly.

"But there is the chance it WILL work. Would you be willing to take that chance if it could mean freedom?" I asked, my eyes boring into her.

After a moment, she nodded. "Yes. I'll call and tell Uncle Mitch that You, Dean, and I are planning on spending New Year's with Tohru. He likes me the best out of the three of us. I heard he was planning on bringing the family out here because Shoji refused to fly to the states this year." Lilah pulled out her cell phone and dialed the main house. Uncle Mitch's secretary was Rebecca, or Becky, the cow. She was nice, but had a big mouth and couldn't keep a secret. "Hey, Becky, what's up?" Lilah spoke into her phone. "Yeah, can I speak directly to Uncle Mitch, sweetie? It's important. Thanks, love. Hi-ya Uncle Mitch! It's Lilah. I just thought you should know ahead of time that Shawna, Dean and myself are planning on spending New Year's with Tohru. Yes, yes, that would be Tohru Honda. Oh. Oh, really? Are you sure? Well, then, yes sir. I'll see you this New Year's." Lilah hung up the phone and stated, "We officially have summons to the New Year's Eve banquet. He said we're not allowed to be spending time with Tohru that we should be spending with him, 'even that cat'." She imitated Uncle Mitch's voice and then grinned happily.

"Yeah! What about you guys?" I turned to the Sohmas.

"Well, you've already been summoned, Yuki, along with Kyou." Hatsuharu stated.

"What? Why?" Yuki asked.

"Because you skipped last year to be with her. Akito even wants Kyou. He really wants her to be alone." Hatsuharu replied.

"Well, don't tell Kyou, and that's a person who we've freed without him even knowing. But what about you guys?" Yuki asked.

"We'll just say we want to keep Tohru company because you guys can't!" Momiji said, excitedly.

"Let's hope this works." Dean said, looking down.

"It will." I said with determination in my voice I didn't feel in my heart. We were all afraid.

Three weeks passed too fast. Our families left the house, looking at us funny because we refused to leave. Hatsuharu and Momiji arrived. We settled in for our test, and by the time Tohru got home, we actually had dinner cooking. But that doesn't mean that it didn't feel like we were ripping something out of ourselves by not going to the banquets. In all honesty, Tohru's happy face to see that we were ALL going to stay with her was enough to motivate us to stay.

:-P

YAYS! Long long chapter! heart heart Anywhos, do you think this should work? Hehe. I have two different endings planed, depending on what you guys say. So vote. Worky or no worky. I like letting you guys decide stuffs. It makes it all that more fun. Bye- bye!


	12. Chapter 12

We were all kind of curled around each other, waiting for the new year. When it officially turned January, we planned to see if our theory had worked. We only had ten more minutes, and trust me, we were getting impatient. Tohru was watching our little huddled mass state with a worried look.

"Guys?" Dean said suddenly, jarring all of us, I think, back into the present.

"Yeah?" I replied, gaining usage of my tongue back first.

"It- It's January..." He said.

We all stared at the clock. It read 12:01. My eyes widened as we stared. Nobody moved. "Guys?" Tohru asked. "It's New Year's. Shouldn't we celebrate?" She smiled hesitantly.

"It really is. We made it." Lilah said. "Now we just have to find a guy to hug." She actually managed a laugh, but we were all afraid that it might not have worked. We all kind of sat there, a little out of it. After a few minutes, we celebrated with Tohru, and waited for our relatives to return.

"Lilah? Dean? Shawna? We're back!" Finally, after a few hours, Shoji and Jesse returned. I leapt up at the same time as Lilah. We both rushed to the door. I threw my arms around Shoji, and Lilah around Jesse. The longest second of my life passed. Then, POOF! Both Shoji and Jesse changed.

"It- It worked!" Lilah screamed, grabbed me in a bear hug, and we both began to jump around happily.

"I believe that's not supposed to happen." Shoji said, looking at us from the floor. He slithered across my feet.

"Shoji, don't you get it? We're free! We're free from the curse!" I laughed giddily, then ran into the other room after scooping up Shoji. "It worked! It worked! Look! Look what I did to Shoji!" I waved him through the air.

It... worked?" Dean said softly. Then he leapt up and ran over and hugged Tohru. Nothing happened. "We're all... free?" Dean looked stunned.

Momiji hugged Tohru like Dean, with the same results. Soon everybody was hugging everybody, and I ran up the stairs, screaming for Kyou. I could finally fix the damage I had caused! I could finally hold Kyou again. He was free! I was free! WE were free!

"KYOU! KY-" I burst into his room, and stopped dead in my tracks. Nobody was there. I ran around the house trying to find him. He had to be there somewhere, but somehow, he wasn't.

Finally, I ended in our room, and noticed something lying on my bed. I picked up the piece of paper and slowly unfolded it.

'Dear Shawna-

I thought just having you near me was enough to

satisfy my needs, but it seems it's not. I decided

to go on a trip, and I don't know when I'll be back,

but know that I will love you forever. Please, don't

forget about me while I'm gone.

-Kyou'

I fell to the floor my brow furrowed as I read the note. Kyou was gone? What? How? No! I couldn't let him be gone! Not now! Not when all of us were free! Not when we could finally be together in piece! NO! I burst into tears. Hysterical, sobbing tears. And that's how everyone found me, with Kyou's note crumpled in my hand.

:-P

All the happiness of the night before had been washed away. I sat dejectedly at the table, staring at my hands. there was no way I would ever be happy again. I couldn't be happy without Kyou. At the moment, I was the only one home, because everyone else went to tell the rest of the family about our discoveries. I glanced up and out the window, and that's when I saw it. A person walking towards the house. I got up and ran to the door. It couldn't be... Kyou was walking towards the house, with the sunlight shining through the trees onto him, making him look beautiful, like a sacred jewel. I lost all control, and went sprinting out of the house, straight to him and into his arms.

"Kyou! Kyou, I thought you were gone! Kyou! Kyou! Kyou!" I kept crying his name over and over as I buried my head into his shoulder, my arms around his neck.

"Shawna? Is everything alright?" Kyou sounded concerned, and I pulled back to see his worried face. I then remembered he had no idea what was going on.

"I can finally have it, Kyou! I can finally have my happiness, hold my happiness!" I knew I was rambling, but I couldn't stop.

"Shawna, what are you talking about?" Kyou was confused.

"I don't have to worry about my happiness being hurt by Uncle Mitch anymore! Uncle Mitch isn't my God anymore!" I tried to make him understand.

"What...?" Kyou looked even more confused.

"We're free Kyou! Both of us are free!" I finally pushed up and pressed my lips against his.

When I pulled back, he stared at me in shock. "Shawna..."

"Don't you understand? I'm free to love you now. We're both free of that damned curse, so I don't have to protect you anymore! I can love you without worrying that my love will get you hurt! YOU are my happiness!" I kissed him again.

Kyou kissed back again, then pulled back and looked at me. "Are you sure?" He asked concerned.

"Love me, Kyou. Please." I whispered, then kissed him passionately, communicating all of my feelings through that kiss.

"I love you. Always." Kyou replied gently.

"I'll always love you too." I replied, then we kissed again. Everything was going to be alright now.

:-P

I was wrong. Oh how wrong I was. "KAIA! YOU ARE A DEAD GIRL!" Dean roared in anger.

"Guys?" I said softly, looking at the sight in front of us, holding Kyou's hand. There were a few muttered yeahs. "I vote Kaia is not allowed within 10 feet of the Kitchen from now on." I said.

"Agreed." Kyou replied, and slowly, we both turned away from yet another smoldering house.


	13. Epilouge

I couldn't help but to smile, remembering my past. That year was the best year of my life. I learned how to be human again. I want to make sure that my children never have to go through what I went through when they are mere teenagers. That is why I had to break the curse all those years ago. So now they are free. Free and beautiful children... Hannah, Lilah, Kaia, and Christopher. They are the future. I suppose that means that Kyou and I are the past. That's alright with me. We had our day. And now I just want to relax... let someone else hold up the weight of the world for once, okay? I'm done being the hero. Hey, I deserve it! I worked miracles that nobody thought possible decades ago. So now I leave the world to my children. They are so much stronger than I...

:-P

Author's note: Okay the point of this pointless chapter, which is pretty bad, I know, is to write this author's note. I wrote the sequel, y'all. It's coming, and I wrote it because you asked. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE go check it out! Tell me what you think, you know? I miss you all! It's called 'My basket of Fruits- Kaia's remix'. Love you all, Dark Kitti (purrrr)


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